House Arrest
by Muted.Massacre
Summary: After being grounded for the week, Rikku thinks that it'll be boring. But, when Gippal stops by, things get... interesting. [RikkuxGippal]
1. Day one

Hey! This is my first fic, so reviews are appreciated. Trust my, I'm an avid reader, so I know it's not that hard.

**Disclaimer:** Okay, since it's the first time, I'll be nice. I do not own Final Fantasy X/X-2 or any of its characters. I do, however, own the plot.

**Rikku's POV**

I sat in my room, door shut, listening to the clock tick. It was almost soothing, the constant _tick, tick, tick _sounding throughout the nearly-empty room.

Sitting up, I stretched my arms up above my head, hearing the satisfying crack in my arms. I curled my legs up onto the bed beneath me, wrapping my arms around them.

I set my chin on my hands, staring out in front of me blankly. I let out a sigh of frustration, and stood up, pacing around the room.

Being grounded was relatively new to me. I mean, my dad never really cared what I did. But, I guess this one time just broke his restraint. I mean, I was home _ten minutes_ past curfew and he nearly jumps down my throat.

Sighing again, I flopped down on my bed, going over the scene my father had caused.

**Flashback**

"_Where were you?" Cid growled, placing his large hands to his waist. An abandoned beer can lie at his feet._

"_I-I was just out with Yuna!" Rikku stammered nervously, her voice becoming a little higher pitched out of nerves. This was a lie; she had been out with Gippal, but that fact wouldn't help her cause._

"_When's your curfew, Rikku?" Cid waited for a response, his foot tapping on the floor._

"_E-Eleven," Rikku squeaked, looking at the clock. Her heart barely fell; she was only ten minutes late._

"_And what time is it _now_?"_

"_Ten past," she admitted softly, looking down at her feet._

"_Exactly. So, starting tomorrow, you're on house arrest for the week. No going out. And, to be sure, I'm having Brother call every hour, on the hour, to be sure you're not sneaking out. Kud ed_(1)_?"_

_Rikku nodded meekly, her spiral eyes focused on her shoes._

"_Now, get outta here!"_

_**End of Flashback**  
_

_What brought on the sudden change of heart? _I wondered, placing my hands behind my head. I shut my eyes and was almost dozing off when I heard a sharp knock on my window.

Curious, I opened one eye and peered into the direction of my window. The sight was enough to open my other eye; there was Gippal, struggling to remain supported on a tree branch. He motioned with his free hand to unlock the window.

I sat up and walked to the window. I unlocked it, and slid it up.

"Hey, there," I said casually, resting my elbows on the sill. "What're you doing up here?"

He positioned himself safely and replied, in a determinedly calm voice, "Just hanging out." The wind began to blow, shaking the branches a little, and Gippal clung to it desperately.

"Wait a second..." I laughed a little as a memory hit me. "You're afraid of heights, right?"

He tried to scoff, but the effect was lost when he still hung onto the tree, not daring to look down.

"Okay," I said, a little softer (c'mon, I felt bad!), "what're you really here for?"

"I'm here to save you from house arrest," he announced proudly, holding his head up as high as he could.

"You serious?" I asked, excitement beginning to course through my veins. He nodded.

"C'mon," he said, motioning with one hand. "Let's go."

I was halfway out the window when I remembered Pops' words the night before; "_I'm having Brother call every hour, on the hour, to be sure you're not sneaking out."_

"I... I can't," I said, giving him a small, apologetic smile. "Cid's got me on house arrest. Brother's due to call every hour to make sure this doesn't happen. I have chores to do as well. It really sounded like fun, though," I added at his somewhat crestfallen expression.

He sat there, head down a little for a moment, before his head shot back up, his visible eye shining. "Then I'll just have to come in and keep you company!" he said happily, grinning. _He looks really cute when he smiles like that_, I found myself thinking.

No way! I mentally smacked myself on the forehead. I did not think about Gippal like that. I mean, he's like my brother. We've been best friends for waay too long. That's just... weird.

At his words, I laughed. "Are you serious? You'd stay all day just so I wouldn't be bored?"

He began to lean toward the window, reluctant to let go of the tree. I held out a supporting hand, and he gratefully accepted it.

"And in answer to your question," he said, shifting to the side so I could sit next to him on the windowsill (it's a _big_ window), "yes, I would stay."

I grinned. He smiled as he continued, "...because I have nothing better to do anyway."

I punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Gee, thanks," I said semi-sarcastically. "You sure know how to make me feel nice."

He grinned. "So, are you gonna invite me in, or are we just gonna sit on the window ledge all day?" I sat in mock thought for a moment before swinging my legs in and standing up, stretching my arms again.

"C'mon," I said cheerfully, motioning with my hand over my shoulder, "we're making cookies!"

**Gippal's POV**

I allowed Rikku to lead me into the kitchen, where she began to pull out ingredients. I stood there blankly until she said, "You can help, too, ya know!"

"I dunno what to get," I replied smoothly, and she retrieved a folded-up list from a drawer. I took it from its place on the table and read through it, pulling out the ingredients as he read through them.

"Eggs," he said under his breath, placing two eggs on the counter. He looked at the list again, then at the counter. They had everything.

Rikku began to hum a tuneless song as she began to mix the ingredients, only pausing occasionally to add a little sprinkle of this or that.

"Um, Rik?" I asked, not wanting to distract her from her baking.

"Hm?" she asked, looking up at him briefly before cracking one of the eggs in, careful to keep the shells out.

"Don't you have to look at the directions?" It was a fair question. She hadn't looked at it since she'd started.

"I know it by heart," she replied, cracking the other egg.

"You make cookies that often?" I asked a little surprised. Rikku didn't strike me as the type to be a baker.

"Yup!" she chirped, measuring out the flour. She blew on it to level it out and it was sent in a cloud over her, settling in her hair, and on her face. The effect made her look as though she had gained about 20 years in a few seconds.

Seemingly oblivious to the flour, she poured it in the bowl, and took out the egg beater. She plugged it in and began to turn it in the bowl, the contents frequently coming dangerously close to the edge.

She looked kinda cute, cooking, covered in flour. For a second, I contemplated taking a few pictures with my phone, but decided not to at the last second. I wanted to keep this a little secret.

I tried to stifle a laugh, but it didn't work. I was soon laughing softly at Rikku. The flour had settled on her nose, and she had yet to notice. At my laugh, however, she turned, raising her white-powdered eyebrows.

"What?" she asked, looking down at her shirt. "Did I get something on me?"

I chuckled. Leaning over, I tapped her nose with my finger, sending small sprinkles of flour down her shirt. "Yeah. You do now."

She huffed jokingly and dipped her hand into the flour container unnoticeably, a sweet smile on her face. She lifted her hand and flung it into my face, where it fell all over my t-shirt and into my hair.

"You've got a little something on you, there," she said sarcastically, grinning. I faced her with a dead-serious expression.

"This," I said, taking out a bottle of whipped cream from the refrigerator, "means _war_."

She squealed and tried to dodge the stream of fluffy white cream. After a second, though, I had her covered. She licked some off her finger. She suddenly got an idea, her face brightening.

"Hey, Gipp-al!" she said happily, coming closer to me as I began backing up. She held out whipped-creamed arms and said, "How 'bout a hug?"

I began to walk backward and flipped over a couch. I stood up and was surprised to see Rikku standing right beside me, arms poised to give me a large hug.

Before I could get the chance to run, she smothered me in a huge bear hug, making sure to just about cover him in the whipped cream. You'd think that being hugged by someone covered in an ice cream topping would be bad. But, strangely, I was enjoying it.

Finally, Rikku seemed to decide that I'd had enough, and let me go. I looked down at my newly-white clothes and said, in a very scary voice, "Oh. You're gonna get it."

I dived over the couch, and back into the kitchen, grabbing a chocolate syrup bottle from the counter. Her eyes lit up at the sight of it until she realized I had it.

"Heh, you don't really have to do that, Gippal," she said, backing up slowly. I smirked when she reached the wall. She walked into it, and her eyes grew wide.

"Oh, yes, I really think I do," I replied innocently, before squirting her all over. She squeaked and moved to the side, trying to miss the flow of chocolate, but I had really good aim. Pretty soon, she was covered.

She was about to go to the refrigerator and get something to retaliate when the phone rang. She froze and then picked it up.

"Hello? Yes. I'm still here. Why didn't I pick up? I was... sleeping. And I guess I didn't hear it. But, I swear, I was here. I'm making cookies! Okay. Okay. Bye."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "He believed me. Now, where were we...?"

She stealthily withdrew a bottle of pancake syrup from the fridge. My eyes widened, but I continued to douse her in chocolate syrup.

**Rikku's POV**

After the whole "war" was over, I looked over at Gippal. He was covered head-to-toe with syrup and chocolate syrup. I looked down at myself, and found it was the same. I began to giggle.

"What?" Gippal asked, looking confused, like, _Did I miss something?_

"We both look... so _funny_," I managed to choke out between giggles. He looked at his reflection in a pan and said in mock indignation, "I do not!"

A second later, he and I were full-out laughing, holding our sides. I looked over at him, then took the container of flour and dipped my sticky finger in, then tapped Gippal on the nose, so we were equal.

"There," I said, grinning, "now we're even."

He laughed. I began to laugh, until I saw the clock. The mirth instantly died from my mouth, and I gulped.

"Tysh(2)," I managed to say, "I'm dead." He looked up in confusion as I shot up and pulled out a washrag from a drawer, running it under the water. He stood up as I began wiping it over the counter, cleaning frantically.

"What?" he asked, pulling out a towel and helping me mop up the sticky mess.

"Cid ec kuhhy pa rusa yho sehida yht E's cibbucat du pa knuihtat, nasaspan(3)?" I said quickly, reverting to Al Bhed in my panic.

"Calm down," he said, placing a soothing hand on my shoulder. "I'll take care of it with you, okay? I'll help you clean this place up. Then, when they come home, you can truthfully say you made cookies and that you were taking a shower."

"Thank you _so much_, Gippal!" I exclaimed, giving him a big hug. I could've sworn I saw a small flush on his cheeks.

**Gippal's POV**

Rikku hugged me and I could feel myself blushing. I hoped she didn't notice as I hugged her back, my arms easily wrapping around her thin frame.

"C'mon," she chirped, breaking the hug, "let's get cleaning!"

We set to work, washing all of the counters and the floor. We were done in about 5 minutes, and then she said, "Okay, let's just—"

A click from the doorknob froze her. I grabbed her hand and ran her upstairs, pushing her toward the bathroom.

"I'll be gone when you leave. Just _go_," I hissed. She nodded, and closed the bathroom door behind her.

I ran into her room, and gulped. Then, gritting my teeth, I launched myself out the window and onto the tree. I nearly let myself drop and ran off, but not before looking back at her room, where she was standing at the window, mouthing, "Thank you."

**Al Bhed Translations:**

(1): Got it?

(2): Damn.

(3): Cid is gonna be home any minute and I'm supposed to be grounded, remember?

Reviews are appreciated.

DiamondxXxDust


	2. Day two

Thanks for all the reviews from the first chapter! I'm sorry that I haven't replied to the reviews, but I've been suffering from some writer's block and I spent all my energy on this story. I hope this chapter isn't too bad.

**Disclaimer:** Trust me, if I owned Final Fantasy X-2, there would be so much Rikku/Gippal fluff it wouldn't be funny.

**Gippal's POV**

The next morning, I sat at the tree again, feeling slightly more comfortable than yesterday. I leaned over cautiously and knocked on the window.

Almost as if she had been waiting for me, Rikku immediately opened the window, grinning at me.

"I didn't know if you'd come back today," she said, moving out of the way to let me crawl in. Once I was in her room, I remembered something from the day before, after I'd left.

**Flashback**

_Gippal walked back into his house, straight up to his room. Soon after, his mother came in after knocking softly._

"_Gippal?" she asked, stepping around the clothes and spare pieces of metal on the floor. He nodded in response._

"_Famm, ouin vydran yht E ryja paah ehjedat du y vunsym byndo." _

"_Yht...?" Gippal was confused; what did this have to do with him?_

"_Oui yna aqbaldat du pnehk y tyda."_

"_Fryd?1!" He was certain he had heard his mom wrong. A _date

"_Oui raynt sa. Ev oui lyhhud veht y kenm du dyga, E'mm veht uha vun oui. Ihtancdyht?"_

_Gippal nodded, knowing it was ridiculous to even try to argue with his mother on anything. She smiled and left the room._

"_Cred," he muttered, "where am I gonna find a date?"_

**Flashback End**

My mother's words came back to me as I followed Rikku out of her room and down the stairs, only half-listening as she hummed a made-up song.

Once we were downstairs, I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it. Sure, I _wanted_ to ask her to go as my date, but what were the odds she'd say yes?

I decided to ask her, but try a different approach with it.

"Hey, Rikku?"

She turned from her position next to the stereo, eyes set in mild curiosity.

"My mom and dad... they have this party to go to, over the weekend. And..."

I suddenly thought of something, and looked up.

"I need you to teach me how to dance."

I nearly laughed as she took on a look of mild surprise before her face broke into a grin.

"Sure," she chirped, and slid to the CD tower next to the stereo. She ran her thin fingers over every case front before selecting one. She cracked open the case and withdrew the CD. Sliding the case back into place, she pressed a button and placed the CD in.

At once, an instrumental song filled the house via the large speakers placed strategically around the room.

I mock-bowed and held out a hand.

"Care to dance?"

**Rikku's POV**

I giggled and took his hand.

"That would be most wonderful, kind sir," I replied in a fake accent, and I felt a little swell of pride when he laughed.

"Okay..." he said awkwardly, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Now what?"

"Place your hand around my waist," I instructed. He looked at me blankly and I took his hand, leading it to the right spot. "Now keep your other hand in mine."

I laid my hand on his shoulder, and I began to teach him the basic steps. He caught on fairly quickly, and pretty soon, we were waltzing around the room, joking around the whole time.

"You're not too bad at this," he noted as he spun me around. I giggled.

"You're pretty good yourself," I commented, slipping my hand back into his. I couldn't help but notice that his hand, warm and soft, seemed to be the perfect size for holding mine. I blushed slightly at the thought before shooing it out of my mind.

Suddenly, he dipped me down, and seemed pretty content to just... keep me suspended in midair.

The first thing I thought (and said) was, "If you drop me, _E'mm gelg ouin ycc_."

Pulling me up again, I was moved close to his chest, and muttered in my ear, "Is that a threat, or a promise?"

I felt myself flush and looked up at him incredulously. He took one look at my face, and I thought I saw a flicker of something go through his eye before he started cracking up. After a second, I began to laugh, too.

"You should've seen your face!" he howled in between fits of laughter.

"Well," I mock-huffed, "you _were_ pretty convincing." Our laughter began to fade into a comfortable silence.

We began to dance again, and I asked him questions about the party he was going to. It seemed like he didn't know anything about it, other than it was formal, and he had to know how to dance.

"So," I said casually, "are you gonna need a date for this kind of thing?"

**Gippal's POV**

I nearly froze. _How did she know?_

"Yeah," I replied, continuing to dance. I could see a small amount of... apprehension in her eyes before she spoke again.

"Did you already ask someone?" she asked. She was nervous, I could tell; her teeth were beginning to sink into her lower lip. _But wait_, I thought, _why would she be nervous? Maybe... nahh._

"No," I answered, and I could've sworn she let out a sigh of relief. But, then again, maybe I just imagined it.

A plan suddenly struck me. Maybe I could ask her in a way that wouldn't seem too obvious...

"I dunno how I'm gonna be able to dance like this with someone else," I said, and I could see that it sparked her interest.

"Well..." A faint blush had appeared on her cheeks, and I noticed that she was pretty cute when she blushed. "Maybe I could go with you—as a friend, of course, to make sure you don't fall on your face." She grinned, and so did I.

"I guess that could work," I said loftily, as if it were no big deal. However, on the inside, I was happy. Hell, I was _ecstatic._

"Okay, then," she said, "it's a date."

I nodded. "I reckon I've got a hang of dancing now," I said, and she nodded.

"Yeah, you're pretty much set," she replied. She opened her mouth to say something, but she froze in a silent scream, her eyes fixed on the floor.

My eye followed hers, and I felt myself pale.

"S-spider," she managed to whisper. I nodded numbly, eye focused on the tarantula. It was the size of my fist, with eight long, hairy legs.

Okay, I admit it. I have a _very_ crazy case of arachnophobia. So, when I saw this _huge_ spider on the floor, all I could say was, "Oh, _vilg_."

Then, at once, we both grabbed each other's hand and ran. We jumped over the couch, and sat on the top of it.

**Rikku's POV**

I could feel myself shaking in fear. I hated how scared I was, but at the same time, I could understand it. I just _hate_ spiders.

Gippal must've noticed how I was trembling, because he slipped a comforting arm around my shoulder, and pulled me a little closer. I sought solace in his arms (Oh, Spira, now I sound like a cheese romance novel) and buried my face in his chest, pure fear pulsing through me.

A shot ran out through the house, and I looked up to see Brother standing in the doorway, a small rifle in his hand, aimed at the spider. My eyes traveled to it, and I had to bite back a gag; the spider had a clean hole through the middle of it, and there was blood pouring from the wound.

Something hit me: I was supposed to be grounded, and here I was, quaking in Gippal's arms. This must've looked _really_ bad to Brother.

"_Is... Rao, Brother. Fryd'na oui tuehk rusa cu aynmo?_" I asked nervously, moving (reluctantly, I admit) away from Gippal.

He narrowed his eyes. "_Pops dumt sa du lralg ib uh oui, palyica dra bruha ech'd fungerk._" Glaring at Gippal, he added, "_Caasc mega E lysa zicd eh desa._"

"_Brother, bmayca! Ed'c hud rec vyimd! E bnusecat res E't daylr res ruf du tyhla. Ed'c so vyimd, hud rec."_ I pleaded with him. Beside me, Gippal was looking at me with a 'what the _ramm _are you doing?' look.

Brother thought it over for a few minutes before finally muttering, "_Veha._" Turning to Gippal, he added, "_Pid ev oui rind ran eh yho fyo, E'mm syga cina oui tuh'd cinjeja du naknad ed._"

He turned on his heel and left. Gippal and I looked at each other, and simultaneously started laughing hysterically.

**Gippal's POV**

I was so sure that Brother was going to bury me alive; I began to laugh in relief. Beside me, Rikku was also laughing.

"So..." I said, once our laughter had died down to an occasional chuckle, "now what?"

She shrugged. "How about a movie?"

I looked at her blankly. "Did you forget you're grounded?" She laughed.

"No, not at the movie theater! Right here! Pops is always buying us movies in an attempt to keep me from going out and meeting someone." Her voice was so cheerful, I had to laugh.

"Well, then. That sounds fine." I smiled. I just watched as she began to look over movies and finally selected two.

"Okay," she said, holding up the two DVDs. "_Killer Chocobos_ or _Revenge of the Chocobo_?"

I laughed. "I'm surprised. Aren't girls supposed to like girly movies?"

She put her hands on her hips and mock-glared at me. "Well, then. I guess I'm no normal girl." She stood at the doorway to the kitchen, then ran and jumped over the couch, landing next to me. Grinning, she said, "How many girls do you know that can do that?"

I laughed. "Not many," I admitted truthfully.

She sat in a pensive silence for a moment before exclaiming, "_Killer Chocobos_ it is!"

She set in the DVD and put on some popcorn. We sat there for hours, watching the movie, until we heard a car door slam outside. I immediately jumped up.

"Seems like I always end up running," I joked before taking on the stairs three at a time and waiting for Cid to get out of the car. Once I heard his voice downstairs, I launched myself out of the window and climbed down the tree. I was walking away when I caught Rikku's eye in a window. She waved.

Grinning, I waved back, and began the trek home, slightly happier.

**Ahh. I think that was pretty bad. I have a question. Would anyone care to be a beta? I hate reading over my own work, and almost always miss something. So, would anyone like to volunteer? As always, please leave a review.**


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